Apple is not even letting the Samsung Galaxy S III land in the U.S. before it unleashes the patent hounds. Cupertino on Tuesday filed a motion in California district court to have Samsung's new flagship smartphone banned in the states.

Apple has asked the court to impose an injunction on the Galaxy S III before it is released in the U.S. T-Mobile and Sprint have said they will start selling the phone on June 21; AT&T, Verizon, and U.S. Cellular have not announced release dates.

"Apple has been able to obtain the Galaxy S III sold in the United Kingdom and determined that this device clearly infringes on at least two of the Apple patents at issues in the preliminary injunction motion for the exact same reasons as the Galaxy Nexus," Apple wrote in its filing. "Because the Galaxy S III contains two of the exact infringing features already at issue with respect to the Galaxy Nexus, the S III is not more than colorably different from the Galaxy Nexus, and falls within the scope of Apple's current proposed order submitted in connection with its motion for a preliminary injunction."

However, the Galaxy S III could irreparably harm Apple "on a much greater scale" than the Galaxy Nexus, Apple said, citing reports about millions of Galaxy S III pre-sales.

According to Apple, Samsung fought Cupertino on efforts to ban the Galaxy Nexus because the smartphone had not sold enough to pose a significant threat to Apple. "While that argument is legally and factually untenable, it is entirely inapplicable with respect to the Galaxy S III, which reportedly will sell phenomenally well immediately upon launch," Apple said.

As Mueller pointed out, the Galaxy Nexus complaint covers four patents, but the Galaxy S III filing only applies to two in order to accelerate the process.

In a statement, a Samsung spokeswoman said Apple's case is "without merit" and pledged to "vigorously oppose the request and demonstrate to the court that the Galaxy S III is innovative and distinctive."

"We would also like to assure consumers that the U.S. launch and sales of the Galaxy S III will proceed as planned," Samsung continued. "The Galaxy S III has already been highly received in markets where it has been introduced."

About the Author

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships a... See Full Bio

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